Public schools warn coaches for bowing heads at student-led prayer

It’s bad enough that public schools don’t educate children well, but they also do things like this.

Excerpt:

Some football coaches are in trouble for something they did with their players. They said a prayer.

That has the school district taking action.

And the policy, while it may be the law, has plenty of people up in arms.

Every school district has a responsibility to follow the law, and separate private faith from public school. It can be a fine line at times. One crossed in Sumner County, it seems, when the coaches didn’t say a word during a student-led prayer, but they did bow their heads.

In a town like Westmoreland, faith and football seem to matter.

“We’re just respectful, God-fearing people up here,” resident Tony Bentle said.

Bentle called games for Westmoreland High School for 42 years.

“A lot of history. A lot of changes. A lot of football,” he said.

So when he, like a lot of people, heard what happened after a recent game at the middle school.

“It actually blew my mind, that we had come to that point,” he said. “Nobody in this town is offended if you pray. Nobody.”

During a student-originated, student-led prayer, four coaches bowed their heads. They didn’t say a word.

But the principal and the district found out.

“We’ve been telling our principals to kind of be looking for those things, because that is kind of a shift in how things have been done,” Sumner County Schools spokesperson Jeremy Johnson said. “It can in no way appear like it’s endorsed by Sumner County Schools personnel.”

Where do you think this happened? It happened in TENNESSEE. But this is what you can expect from public schools – they are run by the government, and religion is a rival to the government in terms of having conflicting views of what people should be doing with their lives.

Christians really need to get serious about cutting funding for these public schools and voting for politicians who support school choice. Michele Bachmann has the best record on that issue.

Herman Cain wins straw poll in Florida!

The Washington Times reports.

Excerpt:

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s front-runner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grass-roots popularity into strong showings in national polls.

“Tonight’s winner is Herman Cain,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced. “It shows you something: The road to the White House comes through Florida, and it pays to spend time here.”

Mr. Cain received 37 percent of the more than 2,600 votes cast.

“Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today,” Mr. Cain said. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of ‘common-sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”

The two national front-runners — Mr. Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — placed second and third. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, meanwhile, landed in fourth place; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was in fifth place; and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sixth. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann finished last. (See the poll results here.)

[…]Minutes before the vote, Mr. Cain, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich each personally addressed the crowd Saturday afternoon, while some of the other candidates sent surrogates to speak on their behalf.

I am really disturbed that Romney is so high in the polls. He is not even a Republican, in my opinion. He is more like a moderate Democrat.

 

Announcing the Reasonable Faith 2011 UK tour with Dr. William Lane Craig

And here’s the schedule:

The details of the tour are still being arranged, and the schedule below will be updated as events are finalised.

Monday 17th October 2011
7.30pm “Does God Exist?“
Public Debate with Stephen Law, lecturer in Philosophy at Heythrop College, London and Editor of the magazine of the Royal Institute of Philosophy THINK. Arranged by Premier Radio.
Westminster Central Hall, Storeys Gate, London, SW1H 9NH

Tuesday 18th October 2011 **NEW**
12.30 Student Lecture “The Evidence for God”
Pippard Lecture Theatre (Sherfield Building), Imperial College London (South Kensington Campus), Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ
Refreshments from 12.00. Start promptly at 12.30.
We hope this event will be webstreamed to the world – details will be announced here on bethinking.org when available.

Wednesday 19th October 2011
7.30pm Public lecture on Stephen Hawking’s The Grand Design followed by a panel response
St. Andrew the Great, Cambridge

Thursday 20th October 2011
7.30pm Debate at the Cambridge Union: “This House Believes that God is not a Delusion”
Proposing the motion: William Lane Craig and Peter S. Williams
Opposing the motion: Arif Ahmed and Andrew Copson
The Cambridge Union, Cambridge
[N.B. This event is open only to members of the Cambridge Union]

Friday 21st October 2011
7.30pm “Does God Exist?“
Debate with Professor Peter Millican, Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of Philosophy at Hertford College, Oxford University
The Great Hall, Birmingham University, Edgbaston, B15 2TT

Saturday 22nd October 2011
9.30am – 5.30pm Bethinking National Apologetics Day Conference
Westminster Chapel, London
Opening and closing lectures from William Lane Craig
Further lectures from Gary Habermas, John Lennox and Peter J. Williams

Sunday 23rd October 2011

Monday 24th October 2011
7.30pm Lecture “The Historicity of Jesus’ Resurrection”
Southampton Guildhall, Southampton SO14 7LP

Tuesday 25th October 2011
7.30pm Lecture “Is God a Delusion?” A Critique of Dawkins’ The God Delusion
[or a debate with Richard Dawkins if he should accept the invitation]
Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ

Wednesday 26th October 2011
7.30pm “Does God Exist?”
Debate with Dr Peter Atkins, former Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University
University Place Lecture Theatre, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL

“Why isn’t there more of this kind of thing being preached from church pulpits?  If there were, I’d go more often and I’d stay awake during the sermon!”
Comment from a self-confessed irregular churchgoer during the 2007 Reasonable Faith Tour.

N.B. All the events will be recorded and will eventually become available to the public.

I note that Craig will be facing Arif Ahmed and Peter Atkins again for re-matches. I hope they do better than they did the first time around…